


Duet

by LyriaBlackFrost



Series: Gladnis Week 2018 [7]
Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Fluff, Gladnis Week, Light-Hearted, M/M, musicians au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-26
Updated: 2018-08-26
Packaged: 2019-07-02 15:32:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,886
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15799413
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LyriaBlackFrost/pseuds/LyriaBlackFrost
Summary: It became a habit of theirs to play together every evening, despite having never seen each other before.Day 7: College/Musicians AU for the Gladnis week 2018.





	Duet

Gladio was used to people complaining about him playing the violin in his apartment, even if he did it before nightfall, and, at some point, he accepted that he’d either have to deal with the complaints or stop practicing altogether. And he wasn’t willing to pick the second option. Besides, he never liked his neighbors that much.

“I don’t get why they complain…” said Prompto, his younger roommate, as they ate Chinese food for dinner. “You can play it so nicely!”

“I’m glad at least someone thinks so.”

“Of course I do! Every time I tried to play something it sounded like a dying horse… I don’t know how you do it, dude… It’s like magic!”

“If by ‘magic’ you mean practicing until you do it right, then yeah, that’s pretty much it.”

Prompto laughed. When they first moved in together, Gladio wasn’t so sure if he’d get used to that bubbly personality of his, but, as the months went by, he realized he couldn’t have found a better roommate. In a way, his cheerfulness helped in neutralizing Gladio’s natural grumpiness.

“Speaking of which,” he said, “I think I’ll practice for a while before sleeping.”

“Go, Gladio!” cheered Prompto. “Break the rules! Show them you do whatever you like!”

Gladio laughed at his friend’s uplift manners. Deep inside, he appreciated the support.

“Maybe a little less, Prompto…” he said. “We don’t want them to kick us out of here.”

They finished their simple meal, and Prompto left to the bathroom to take a shower, while Gladio went to his own room. After another exhausting day of going to class straight from work, playing was one of the few things that made him feel relaxed.

Gladio opened his case, taking the already worn-out instrument, playing with the sound a little, then performed a few songs, from classical to modern with no prejudice. He chose to finish his session with Nocturne in C sharp minor, one of his favorites, which he knew by heart after playing so much, and, as soon as he played the first notes, a smile took his lips. That melody was so familiar that, at some point, it felt like he wasn’t playing alone.

Wait… He wasn’t imagining things: there really was a piano accompanying him. It took Gladio by surprise, and he stopped for a second. The piano continued, though, as if waiting for him to keep up. He almost laughed when he realized what it meant.

“ _Are they proposing a duet?”_ he thought.

Gladio smiled to himself, starting to play again. The instruments accompanied each other in a soft harmony, as if they had practiced for that moment. When that piece ended, the piano silenced and played nothing else.

He approached his window, looking around, despite knowing it was impossible to identify where the sound had come from, especially now that it had stopped.

“What was that?” Prompto entered the room, drying his hair with a towel. “Was someone playing with you?”

“Yeah, but I don’t know who,” said Gladio, looking at him. “Did you hear where it came from?”

“Not really, I just got out of the bathroom.”

“What a shame… And I thought I had found a fellow musician.”

He smiled, looking one last time through his window. When he faced Prompto again, the boy was staring at him with a goofy expression.

“Such a romantic thing…”

“Don’t even start,” said Gladio, rolling his eyes.

“But it is!”

“Yeah, yeah… Whatever you say.”

“Aww, are you in love?”

Gladio looked at him, raising his eyebrow.

“Don’t be stupid,” he said.

“I know, I know…” Prompto sighed. “You wouldn’t betray the coffee-shop guy, would you?”

“Prompto…”

“But what if the one playing is an old man—”

“Prompto.”

Prompto stopped talking, raising both hands in a sign of peace.

“Alright… I’ll go to sleep now,” he pointed to his room, leaving Gladio’s without looking away from him, that silly expression still on his face.

Gladio shook his head. Prompto was the kind of guy who liked to dramatize everything more than necessary, so Gladio had to keep him in line. He placed his violin back in the case, smiling once again.

He didn’t know what that was all about, but it sure had lifted his humor that night.

 

* * *

  

It had been less than a month since Ignis and Noctis moved to that apartment. Of course, moving had been exhausting, and there were still a few things to unpack and organize. But, living so close to their school and Ignis’ workplace made all the effort worth it.

Besides, there was something interesting about that place. Every day, more or less at the start of the evening, that person would play their violin, and Ignis made it a habit to accompany them with his piano. The first time he did it was two days after they moved, on a whim, since he was right next to the piano and the violinist was playing a piece he liked. But now, every time he heard that familiar sound, it felt like an invitation.

Ignis had just finished washing the dishes from dinner when his mysterious partner started his session that night.

“It’s that violinist again…” commented Noctis.

“You know what it means.”

Saying that, Ignis approached his piano, and soon started to accompany that melody. Noctis pulled up a chair, sitting beside him. He too had learned how to play when he was younger, but, unlike Ignis, didn’t have the patience and dedication to keep practicing after middle-school.

“Did you discover who they are, already?” he asked.

“I have no idea.”

“And still, you two play together every night.”

“It isn’t that strange, is it?”

“Well… Actually, it is a little.”

A low laugh left Ignis’ lips.

“I can’t say I care that much,” he said.

“Of course you don’t,” agreed Noctis, stretching his arms with a long yawn. “Just don’t play too much, or the book-store guy might get jealous.”

“Go to sleep Noct.”

A playful smile took Noctis’ lips.

“You know I’m right,” he said.

Ignis just shook his head. Noctis stood up, going to his room.

“Don’t stay up late,” he said, before closing the door.

 

* * *

 

It had become a habit for Noctis to spend his free time with Prompto, a guy he met in his class, and who ignored all of his awkwardness and terrible social skills, talking to him until he felt comfortable enough to open up a little. Since then, they became closer, enough for Noctis to consider him a friend.

Noctis was telling Prompto about a game he had finished recently when he felt his cell phone buzzing. He took it from his pocket, seeing it was a message from Ignis, asking him if he had an umbrella, since it seemed like it was about to rain. Noctis answered that he had, just to reassure him.

“There he is, being annoying again,” he said, despite being more than used to that.

“Who?”

“Ignis.”

That name made Prompto widen his eyes.

“Wait… You mean the coffee-shop guy?” When Noctis nodded, he grabbed his sleeve with both hands. “Do you know him?”

“Of course I do,” said Noctis. “He’s my brother… Well, at least like a brother.”

Prompto stared at him, and Noctis wondered if he was feeling well.

“Wow, I can’t believe it…” Prompto said with a brief laugh. “My roommate has the biggest crush on him!”

“Really?” asked Noctis. “Who’s your roommate?”

“Ah, it’s Gladio. I’ll introduce you any of these days. He’s a pretty cool guy, plays the violin like a professional.”

This time, Noctis was the one staring at him.

“What?” asked Prompto.

“Did you say he plays the violin?”

“Yeah…?”

Noctis knew he was probably thinking too much about it. Many people liked to play instruments on their free time, after all.

“This may sound strange, but… Where do you live, Prompto?”

His friend blinked, confused with the change in subject.

“The Insomnia residential, just a few blocks from here,” he said. “Why?”

“And do your roommate, by any chance, play his violin almost every evening?”

“Yeah…?”

“Holy shit…”

Noctis covered his mouth with a hand: he had just solved the biggest mystery of those last few weeks by accident.

“What’s wrong, Noct?” asked Prompto, in a mix of worry and curiosity.

“You heard someone playing piano at the same time as you roommate, right?”

“Uh, yeah?” Prompto raised his brow. “The mysterious pianist… But we still don’t know who they are.”

“He’s Ignis.”

They looked at each other, silently sharing that shock for a few seconds.

“Holy shit!” said Prompto.

“Yeah…” agreed Noctis.

“No, man… Holy shit!”

“I know!”

“Dude!” he took the cell phone from his pocket. “I must tell Gladio. Now!”

Prompto started to type quickly, and Noctis almost laughed at the situation: it couldn’t get weirder than that, even if he made an effort.

“Next thing, you’re gonna tell me he works in a book-store…” he said in a playful tone.

Prompto stopped typing his message, looking at him with a blank expression.

“Are you kidding me?”

 

* * *

 

Ignis read Noctis’ message, and wondered if he really had an umbrella, or said so just to avoid his nagging. He concluded it would be useless to worry about it, and chose to focus on his work.

The shop was quiet that day, with only a few customers besides Gladio — or “book-store guy”, as Noctis liked to call him. He was one of the regulars, making an appearance almost every day, and the two of them might or might not have been flirting with each other for quite some time.

He was still looking in his direction when Gladio raised his eyes, staring back at him. It startled Ignis a little, and it only got worse when he got up from his seat, approaching him with fast steps. Ignis managed to show a friendly smile.

“Do you want something el—”

“Are you the pianist?”

That was so unexpected that completely broke his line of thought. He just looked at Gladio in silence, until he found the answer to that question.

“I play the piano, yes,” he said, frowning. “Why are you asking?”

Gladio stopped for a moment, and Ignis had the impression he was as lost as himself.

“Well…” he said. “I don’t really know how to say this, but… I think we had a few duets on the last few weeks.”

Ignis widened his eyes.

“Are you the violinist?” he asked.

“Yeah.”

He was speechless. From all people, had he been playing musical duets with the guy he…?

“That’s surprising,” he said.

“Tell me about it.”

There was a moment of silence. How to even proceed from there?

“So,” said Gladio, “this might be kinda sudden, but… Are you free after your shift ends?”

“Ah… yes, I am.”

To be honest, he was planning to work on a term paper to get it out of the way as soon as possible, but that could wait a little. Gladio seemed pleased with the answer, smiling with more confidence.

“Would you like to maybe, I don’t know, have a coffee or something?” Gladio noticed his mistake too late. “No, wait… Damn, that was stupid…”

Gladio covered his eyes with his hand. Ignis laughed to himself, finding that reaction quite endearing.

“Actually,” he said, “I’d love to.”


End file.
